Sheffield United are taking drastic measures to avoid administration

Sheffield United are implementing a series of measures to ease the club’s financial strain and avoid penalties that could hurt their promotion ambitions.

The Championship side have reportedly switched off a heating system under their training pitch and have stopped using grass.

Financial concerns have worsened in recent months.

In addition to the money-saving tricks mentioned earlier, the Blades have restricted the use of software data by team scouts, limited the use of part-time employees, and failed to pay suppliers.

According to Sportsmail, the South Yorkshire team are trying to save money so they don’t go into administration.

Entering administration a real problem for club

Under current English Football League (EFL) rules, any club that enters administration before next Thursday will be awarded 12 points.

Like any other business, European football clubs go bankrupt because they don’t make the right payments. A court would then appoint an administrator to take over the team.

The move also helps protect teams from potential creditors.

Sheffield United would of course like to prevent this. The EFL previously handed the Blades a transfer embargo due to non-compliance with certain payments.

The aforementioned news outlet claims that this was an embargo for Liverpool and Malmo not paying for the transfers of Rhian Brewster and Anel Ahmedhodzic respectively.

During the January transfer window, the embargo blocked the club from signing new players. Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League after finishing last in the 2020/21 season.

They also bought only one regular player during the transfer window last summer.

Blades perform well on the field

Despite the financial concerns, the Blades are having a great season on the field. Sheffield United are currently second in the Championship table.

Under the current format, the top two teams in the table automatically qualify for the Premier League. Teams finishing between third and sixth will advance to a round of playoffs to determine qualification for the top flight.

A potential 12-point deduction would be a serious blow to the team’s chances of returning to the top flight. If the club loses a dozen points it would drop them to seventh place at this point.

Of course, this would miss the chance to qualify for the playoffs. However, there are currently nine league matches left on the fixture list to get to grips with the standings.

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